“Indeed, The Hobbit films are very much about the brittle yet profound friendship between Bilbo and Thorin, and this is the one area where I believe the movies outshine the book. Tolkien’s Thorin is hardly sympathetic. He’s never as brave or as compelling a leader as the Thorin of the films (thanks largely to a truly terrific performance by Richard Armitage.)”

[Our very own Kathy Jones has braved not only the smelly hallowed halls of San Diego ComicCon but has also taken it upon herself to attend the preview screening of Into The Storm. This is her review, or in her own words her “impressions of the movie, as a fan girl”.]

Primus inter Pares? Armitage as part of the ITS cast. Image: Warner Bros.

Richard Armitage does not blow you away in his performance as the stalwart teacher/dad/hero of Into the Storm, but not because of lack of talent or effort. The tornadoes are the stars of this film, and the humans only exist to provide a scale by which we can measure the power of these massively destructive storms.

The film unfolds on a day when various people are literally thrown together and have to cooperate to survive. The actors work as an ensemble, more than individuals…